Family Ties
by BaranoShiko
Summary: The revisedrewritten Family. Better summary later. AU
1. Prolouge

Okay ... I finally got the first chapter of _Family Ties_ posted. Took me long enough ... jeeze. Reminder, this is a revised version of _Family, _so I won't be posting any more chapters to _Family,_ they will all be posted under _Family Ties_.

Note: This story is AU, though that might not be aparent yet. Also, characters will be OOC, due to the fact that I haven't truely met them yet, or it just fits the story line better. Bear with me please!

Disclaimer - Don't own Naruto or the charecters.

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Family Ties 

Prologue

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Kakashi sighed. He was standing in front of his assigned classroom. The classroom that held the one thing he had hoped to avoid for the rest of his life. Students. Fresh out of the Academy students. Students that didn't know a thing about being a shinobi. '_Students I'm never going to pass, so it's pointless to assign them to me. I told Sandaime not to assign anymore to me, unless he really wants them to fail, with crushed dreams to boot.'_ Another sigh left his mouth as he spotted the eraser wedged between the door and the wall. Looking at his list of students (a grand total of three) he identified the most probable culprit. '_Uzumaki Naruto. The fox kit.'_ Looking back down at the list he registered the other names in his brain before setting the piece of paper on fire. '_Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. The silent one and the brain. Oh joy.'_

For the three young adults in the classroom, it seemed that their assigned teacher was, put bluntly, an IDIOT. He didn't even avoid the simple test that Naruto had set up.

Even though he was expecting it, the falling eraser hurt. It hurt a hell of a lot more then he expected it to. Neither Naruto's laughter, or Sakura's obviously fake 'sorry' were enough to drown out the mantra running through Kakashi's head. '_I'm going to kill the one responsible for that stupid, fucking eraser. I'm so going to kill …' _Fortunately for Naruto, he reigned in his urge to strangle the boy in time to get a good look at his three, unfortunate pupils.

Naruto was just getting over his laughter, his blonde head thrown back and the whisker marks on his cheeks scrunched together, and seemed to find his teachers pain hilarious, but on a quick, closer inspection, his blue eyes didn't hold as much laughter as they should have if the laugh was genuine. His eyes were chuckling while his mouth was guffawing. Kakashi noted that on his mental clipboard.

Sakura was still wringing her hands, and the pink head shaking, and repeatedly stating how sorry she was, and that she had tried to stop Naruto, and please forgive her and Sasuke, even though he had nothing to do with it… and so on and so on. Kakashi nearly did a double take when he looked at her green eyes. '_Was it my overactive imagination or was there another Sakura in her eyes. Yep. Defiantly another Sakura. Creeeeeepy.' _Another Sakura indeed. A Sakura who was in tears laughing at his misfortune of falling for Naruto's trap.

Last, there was Sasuke. He was sitting at a desk, looking over his hands at the scene playing out in front of him. Fingers interlocked in front of his face, hiding his lower face from view, but not his eyes, and the black hair didn't hide them either. Kakashi mentally raised his eyebrow at Sasuke's eyes. '_They're not at all what I've heard of. Black, cold, heartless, glaring eyes Uchiha Sasuke. I understand the glaring, he is an Uchiha, but I'd almost have to say he was laughing by the look of his eyes.' _

Kakashi came to several interesting conclusions about his assigned team in those few seconds. Simply put he found them a puzzle with in a puzzle. To know them you'd have to look underneath the underneath, something Kakashi was quite adept at doing. He jotted more notes down on his mental clipboard. _They aren't apparently friends, but they can't be described, simply, as anything but friends. They're too comfortable around each other to be acquaintances, but not comfortable enough to be friends. Yet, they aren't the kind of people that the others would think of as the not-quite-friend-but-not-acquaintance type. They all seem to be hiding behind some sort of mask. Hiding something together almost, by the way they act. _Kakashi tapped his mental pen against his mental chin in thought, for these observations raised some interesting questions. _Question one – what were they to each other? Two – what are they hiding? And three – why are they hiding?_

Kakashi chuckled, drawing the attention of all three. "Hmm … how shall I put this?" He rubbed his chin (his physical chin) for emphasis. "Based on my first impression, I'd have to say … I hate you!"

Mentally he grinned at the sweat that appeared on their faces. '_Actually I don't hate you quite yet. You three intrigue me really. And I plan to unravel your secrets. Starting now.'_

_

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_

End of the first part! YAY! Not many changes here.

Review Please!


	2. Introductions

Chapter 2! Did my best with this one.

Disclaimer - As much as it would be fun to own the characters of Naruto ... I don't.

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Family Ties 

Chapter 1 - Introductions

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Kakashi felt ready to scream, but he opted for mentally banging his head on a hard brick wall.

He reviewed his day so far.

He'd woken up, had breakfast, and completed his normal morning routine.

He'd gone to the memorial and talked with his fallen comrades.

He'd found out that he was assigned a genin team. That's when the day had started to go done the drain.

He'd met his team. Nothing too special … or so he'd thought. After that meeting he'd ended up with a lump on his head from the damn eraser and a big jumble of questions: what is his team trying to hide? Why? What are their real personas like? Do they really fight as much as they seem to? Should I even try and see if they pass?

Then he'd gone to the roof to have a little "get to know your teammates" time. He'd thought that through the simple idea of sharing favorite things, most hated things, dreams, hobbies, ambitions, and interests, he'd be able to find out more about them, and maybe piece together some of the puzzle behind them. Unfortunately, that plan failed. Miserably.

_Flashback_

_Kakashi had just finished explaining, with the help of his let-me-talk-for-a-bit-and-pretend-to-give-you-information-about-myself-when-in-reality-I-only-telling-you-my-name speech (which they seemed a bit annoyed by, if Sakura's reaction had been any indication), to the three kids in front of him what it was he wanted them to do. Naruto went first._

_As the Kyuubi's vessel went through his list of things, Kakashi mentally sweatdropped. _'Great. I've been stuck with a kid that thinks about nothing but ramen. What did I do to deserve this?'_ He snapped out of his thoughts when Naruto's voice took on a determination that it was lacking before. _

"_My dream is to one day be a better shinobi than Hokage-sama! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!"_

_Kakashi looked at the other two in the group. Sasuke hadn't changed his expression from his earlier glare, save for the raised eyebrow while Sakura had an expression of disbelief on her face. The expected reaction to such a statement. Their eyes, however, were not what was expected. Both pairs of eyes held something akin to pride and … support? But both members of the team replaced their masks in a second. Yet all Kakashi needed was a second '_Not pride itself_ …_ maybe some weird mix of pride and happiness, like they're happy that he's reaching for something out of his grasp that they know he'll reach. And the support.' _Two grinning faces flashed in Kakashi's mind's eye. _'Like Rin and Obito.' _Another face flashed. While the other two had been of children not much older then Team 7 was now, this face was of a man closely resembling Naruto minus the whisker marks. _'And Yondaime …'

_After Naruto finished, Sasuke started. Kakashi, his head drooping slightly, smirked at his response. _'Almost got the no-info-but-the-name speech down, kid.'_ His head snapped up when the feeling of chakra around him changed. No longer was it the cool, semi-calm feeling that the three kids had been putting out before while everything was normal. Now, it was hot instead of cool, and had a violence about it that only comes with anger. _

_Sasuke's voice was cold as Kakashi listened to the last bit of his introduction, "There's someone I have sworn to kill."_

_Trying to gauge the reactions of Sakura and Naruto, Kakashi was disappointed to see that they both had turned their faces away from him and the shadows fell completely across both their faces, shielding them from Kakashi. Whether this was intentional or not, Kakashi didn't know. Both were stiff, but that could have come from any number of reasons: fear, agreement, memories. The list went on and on. Yet, he still gained something from them. The chakra change was too intense to be only one person, it had to be at least two. _'So Sasuke isn't the only one who wants to kill someone. Damnit Kakashi. You spaced out and didn't hear what he said before that. Damn you. You're better then letting untrained children get the better of you.'

_It took a minute, but the chakra settled down, and Sakura started. Her's actually went along quite normally. No strange reactions, no flaring chakra. Nothing. Well, nothing if you didn't count her words. They all pertained to boys. Every last one of them. _'Damn, that was one of my last chances.'

_End Flashback _

They either suspected what he was trying to do, were really, really good actors, or they weren't hiding anything. Kakashi would have bet his sharingan that it wasn't the later, and he suspected that it was a little of the former two. None of them had backed down, either, when he told them about their work tomorrow.

Some of his colleagues would sugar coat the information that they gave their students. That was something Kakashi never did. He was of the opinion that a shinobi should never be babied. That could result in death. It was best that the future fighters of the Fire Country learned that lesson now, when it was less likely to matter, rather then when on a mission. If someone couldn't take the hard, cold truth, then they didn't deserve to pass, and Kakashi always made sure those graduates never passed under him no matter how talented they may be. His fellow jounin Kurenai and Asuma were of a similar mindset, if slightly less adamant. OK, a _lot _less adamant. They'd passed teams before.

'_Well, they passed the first test. You've still got a chance, kids. Tomorrow we'll see if you can pass the second test as a team.'_

As he handed out the instructions for the next part of the test, he observed the reactions of all three. Sasuke crumpled the paper without even looking at it, while both Sakura and Naruto looked it over. Of those two, Kakashi was surprised to find that it was Naruto that studied it and looked it over, while Sakura seemed to have skimmed through it, then sat trembling. _'Must have concocted some wacky connection between this and her nonexistent love life. Heh.'_

After they all had their assignments, Kakashi poofed out in a puff of smoke, but he didn't go far. In fact, he only went over the side of the building. Using his chakra he concentrated on his feet and literally stuck to the wall then sent a shadow clone bounding over the village rooftops. He himself stuck and listened for any clues.

"His chakra is moving away." That was Sasuke.

"Man, why do we have to do survival exercises?" Always the complainer, Naruto.

"He could just want to test our skills. That's the most probable reason." Logical and thought out seemed to be Sakura's choice when answering.

"Remember, you can't survive on your own." Sasuke's voice was more distant now, by the sound of his voice and that of the three's footsteps, they were moving to the stairs.

"Right. Tachi-niisan made sure we knew that." Sakura's voice was descending. _'They must have reached the stairs. I didn't think Sakura had an older brother.'_

"Crap!"

"Naruto…" Warning was evident in Sakura's voice.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, but I'm late."

"For what?"

"I promised Niisan that have ramen with him after classes today, and I'm already half an hour late."

"Then get going." One set of footsteps picked up and started running. "And tell him hi for us." Sakura had to yell the last part.

"I best get going, too, Sasuke-kun. See you tomorrow."

Another set of footsteps ran off. The last, Sasuke's, kept to the walk they'd been at the whole time. Kakashi was about to leave when he heard something that caught his attention. A chuckle. He listened. Another chuckle came, faint and getting fainter, but it clicked. Uchiha, the ice prince Sasuke, was laughing, and not the laugh that Kakashi would have expected from the boy. It was a nice laugh, sincere and happy even.

"Bakas." The word were nearly lost to Kakashi since Sasuke was so far down the stairs, but he heard it, and they only served to increase his curiosity about the team he was assigned.

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Hey! I made Sasuke laugh! Interesting ... 

Review!


	3. Author Note

I had hoped that this would be the next chapter ... Unfortunatly my computer decided to erase the document. Now I have to go back and find it, then upload it, and do any revisions. But the next few chapters after that are ready to go! So there's a plus side ... as soon as I can post this chappy, I can post a couple more!

Due to the insanely long wait I am ready and willing to have things thrown at me. I'll even paint a target on my shirt! So feel free to go ahead and pelt me with rotten fruit & veggies!

...just remember that if I die the story will never be updated.


	4. Teamwork

Finally ... I HATE my computer.

(rant ahead)

I've been really pissed because for the longest time (basiclly since the last post) I've had to use three different computers for author stuff. The computer that all the documents are on takes at least half an hour to get the documents to from the computer, annd my parents don't like me tying up the phone line for that long. The computer that lets me upload the documents from the computer faster won't let me edit them without erasing them (plus there was the problem that my thumbdrive was being a pain and wouldn't save stuff for me to transfer), so I can't update from that one, and again computer number one takes forever to do it, so I had to find another computer to update from. Only other choice is school computers. Which I never have time to get on. Soooooo ... I've had to go through three different computers to get one chapter uploaded and then update it to I'm a little pissed.

(end rant)

So anyway ... I'm editing and updating three chapters together. After that it'll be a while untill any more for a while. I've been busy with homework for school, and haven't had time to write. That coupled with the fact that the plot bunny/thingies are biting me on a regular basis for other stories ... I'm really trying to just get those down and forget about them till this is done, but it's kinda hard to write when other stories keep popping up in the middle of other ones ... it seems to have died down now, so I'm hopeing/planning on doing a lot of writing while the bunnies/thingies are calm.

You're probably really annoyed with me if you've been reading this whole thing so ... ON TO THE STORY!!!

Disclaimer - Own ... I wish I did but I don't

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Chapter 3 - Teamwork

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Kakashi arrived to the practice field late the next day. He received identical glares from all three of his students, and both Sakura and Naruto yelled at him. _'They better get used to this, 'cause if they pass, it will be the norm.'_ Going over what he'd just said he mentally cocked an eyebrow. _'If they pass … never even thought something like that before. Interesting.'_

He started the clock, and then announced the test. "This alarm is set to go off at noon. I've got two bells here. Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails doesn't get a lunch, and will be instead tied to a tree stump so I, or your teammates, can eat your lunch in front of you"

"But Kakashi-sensei, there are only two bells, so only two of us will get to eat." Sakura pointed out.

"The young lady catches on first. You're right Sakura, there aren't enough bells to go around, so one of you is defiantly headed for the stump, and that person will be the first of you to fail. At least one of you is on your way back to school … and disgrace. You may use weapons if you choose." He clipped the bells to his belt then as an afterthought said, "Oh, and strike to kill. That's the only way you'll even have a chance of passing."

"But sensei, that's dangerous."

"Yeah, I mean you couldn't even dodge an eraser. Not much of a shinobi if you ask me."

"The world on a shinobi is dangerous, Sakura. Now forgetting the idiot, we'll start on my signal."

He seemed to have struck a cord in Naruto, for the boy grabbed a kunai and aimed for his teacher. Before he could even think about releasing the knife, Kakashi was behind him with one hand on the blond boy's head and the other forcing the hand with the kunai around to face the back of his neck.

"Hold it. I haven't said 'go' yet."

Kakashi grinned under his mask as he said his next words "At least you aimed to kill, so, it seems you've begun to respect me." He chuckled. "Maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to like you three. GO!"

His team had eight minutes to go before noon, and none of them had gotten a bell yet. The boys had both been close, and would be eating if they had thought their strategies through a bit more. If Naruto had grabbed a bell instead of grabbing his teacher he would have gotten lunch. And Sasuke had, without the element of surprise, in the middle of a fight nearly grabbed one. So far, he hadn't faced off with Sakura but something told him to just let it be. He looked over to the lunches from his perch in a tree, and sighed. Naruto was over there trying to eat the lunches before noon. _'So much for passing as part of a team.'_

After Kakashi had finished tying Naruto to one of the stumps he looked at the clock. One minute left. _'Might as well just wait for them here. All of them showed promise in the field of fighting, but not working as a team could get them killed on a mission. Still the day has a long way to go before it ends, and I don't have to report an announcement on the pass or fail position of those three till eight o'clock. I think I'll give them another shot at showing me that they can work as a team, and pass.'_

The alarm sounded. A minute or so later both Sasuke and Sakura were seated on the ground on either side of Naruto.

"I have to say I'm disappointed in you three. None of you got a bell. But … that's not why you failed. I have other business to attend to so I'm leaving. I'll be gone for a couple of hours. I want to think about why you failed, and when I get back you'll have another go at passing. Sasuke, Sakura, you get the lunches. DON'T give Naruto any, and DON'T free him."

With that Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Yet, once again, he didn't go far, only to a tree out of his team's line of sight. He settled down to see, err … hear what they would do.

"Naruto, you're an idiot." Sasuke's words were accompanied by the sound of a kunai slicing through something. Kakashi decided that it would be safe to go to a nearer tree. Arriving safely, he looked down to see Naruto rummaging through the pack he brought. Sasuke was putting a kunai away, but Sakura was nowhere in sight. The lunches sat on the ground where he'd left them. _'So you think that you can just disobey my orders Sasuke? Even though this is what I wanted … another reason I don't like taking on teams. Thinking about them always messes up my thoughts'_

Finding what he wanted Naruto turned to Sasuke, "Hand me the food will you?" And to Kakashi's surprise, Sasuke did. Sakura returned then with an armful of wood, which she set about arranging in shape that would make a nice fire. Not a long lasting fire, but one that would burn quickly, giving you just long enough to cook something, without adding extra wood. Surprisingly the arrangement was one taught to higher-ranking jounin and anbu for missions that required speed. _'How'd she know that?'_

"Sasuke-kun light this will you?" She turned to the boy in question, and immediately had to jump out of the way as a burst of flame headed her way. "The wood, not me, stupid!"

Naruto chuckled as he brought over a bowl filled with … chicken and vegetables? Kakashi glanced over at the lunches, and sure enough the meat and vegetables that were on the side had disappeared. To the bowl, Naruto added a little water from one of the canteens, covered it with a flat stone, and put it in the fire.

"Say Naruto-kun what's the water for?" Sakura asked as she bit into an apple. She tossed one each to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan, I know that you know that the lunches were about 50 larger then usual," Naruto had to pause to swallow the chuck of apple he had just bitten off. "We all noticed the size change when we saw the food earlier, and later you two gave me some time to figure out the difference. But even with that increase in size, for the three of us to all gain enough energy from the food in order to pass Kakashi-sensei's, test we need to have a little more. By adding water to the food already here, I'm making a broth that will break down some of the vegetables, and will give us more food." Naruto smiled at Sakura's sheepish grin.

"Guess we know why Mana-san hired you to help at his restaurant." Sasuke was scooping about a third the rice from each lunch into a bowl that Kakashi guessed was from Naruto's pack. _'This is surprising, though not wholly unwanted. They're giving Naruto food even though I gave orders for them not to. I was surprised by Sasuke's disobedience when it came to freeing Naruto, but this … Sakura hasn't said a word against it. I thought she was supposed to be the one who followed the rules. And they gave him time earlier to figure out the difference? What?'_

"Guys, what are we going to tell Kakashi-sensei if he comes back during this?"

'_Now that's more like the Sakura I've heard about.'_

"We'll tell him the truth, Saka-chan. We're a team and as such, we look out for each other."

"Naruto's right. Your idea to work as a team during this 'test' was the best idea. Naruto and I were too stubborn to do it the first time, though."

'_So they did think about working as a team to pass. A few more points in their score. But take some of those away for not deciding to work together.'_

Sakura smiled at her teammates. "You sound like my dad. 'Always look out for yourself, always follow the orders you're given, but never abandon a teammate, and when it comes to the welfare of those people, treat them the same way you would treat you family. When you're on a mission, they are your family.' He would always say stuff like that." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. Both Sasuke and Naruto looked at her sadly.

"Your father was a great guy, Kura-chan. He was fun to be around, and always knew what to say to you. He was one of the few villagers to treat me like everyone else." Naruto wrapped his arms around his legs.

"He was the one that brought me to Hokage-sama after my family died. I never saw him tell a lie, it was always the cold, hard truth. But sometimes that's what you needed." Sasuke looked up at the sky.

Through both boys' words, Kakashi detected something being left unsaid. Neither lied, but neither told the whole truth.

"I miss him. I never thought that something like that could happen. I always though he'd be there. He used to talk about how he would spoil his grandkids rotten, or take them to other countries for the day. But he … he can't now." Sakura broke down and started sobbing. Naruto lifted his head, and crawled over to her.

"Come on, Kura-chan, its okay. You've still got your mom, and Tachi-niisan and Iruka-sensei, and everyone else. Please don't cry, it's strange to see you cry. Please don't." Sakura's head was buried in Naruto's shoulder, and her sobbing lessened until it was only a hiccup here and there.

Sasuke walked over to them and crouched down. He gently turned Sakura away from Naruto and towards himself. "Naruto, go check the food. I put some water in another bowl to heat up. There's some coco powder next to the rice. A hot drink and some food would be the best thing … for all of us right now."

'So they know how to work not only as a team on missions, but also as a team to comfort each other. I have to keep going underneath the underneath time and time again.'

Naruto nodded, rubbed his eyes a couple of times, then went over to the fire and pulled out the bowl of stew. Then, after checking the other bowl, pulled that one out as well. He poured a third of the stew over each helping of rice, then brought them over to his teammates. Setting down the bowl, he nudged Sakura with one of the lunch containers. "Here. Eat. It might not be the best. But Sasuke's right, the hot food will help."

Sakura took the offered container, and Naruto handed Sasuke the other. Before he started eating, though, Naruto went to his pack and rummaged around some more, finally coming up with three tiny bowls that could serve as cups. Picking up the bowl of hot water in one hand, the small bowls in the other, and the bag of coco in his mouth, he walked back over to his teammates.

Sasuke took the bowls and started pouring hot water into the makeshift cups, while Naruto tried to open the bag of coco. Tried being the key word.

"Stupid plastic bag! Why the hell won't you open?!"

Sakura gave Naruto a glare at his swearing before laughing. Kakashi had to admit that it was a funny sight. A ninja defeated by a plastic bag! Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot. Are you a ninja or not?" He tapped said idiot on the head with a kunai.

"Ohhhhh … right." With an embarrassed smile, Naruto took the kunai and cut open the bag. He handed the now open bag to Sasuke, who poured some into each small bowl, then used one of his clean chopsticks to stir it in. He handed one to both Sakura and Naruto before taking a sip of his own.

The team ate the rest of the meal in silence, broken only at the beginning by Sasuke and Sakura complimenting Naruto on his cooking skills, then later when both Naruto and Sasuke demanding that Sakura finish her food. When she protested, Naruto got up and gave a sigh as he told Sasuke that it was such a shame that he'd have to feed Sakura mouth to mouth. Sakura gave a little scream at that, and immediately started to eat again. When she stopped to breathe, all three of them shared a smile or laugh, before going back to eating.

Kakashi looked at the three of them and tried to put a name on the feel of the atmosphere. _'Friendly? Comfortable? Right? Natural? That fits. Natural. It seems natural for something like this to happen.'_

'_Still, should I pass them or no? None of them got a bell, and they disobeyed my direct orders about feeding and freeing Naruto. Yet that's what I wanted them to do. Team work is important and they defiantly understand the concept of teamwork. Almost too well for kids their age. I've seen and been part of teams that have been together for months and years, but never work this well together. They seemed to know exactly what needed to be done, and were able to separate the tasks without arguing in the slightest. They almost seem to communicate without speaking. As if they've done this before, and many times at that. That's what I want in a team I have to lead. Still their willingness to immediately disobey orders is a bit disconcerting. Hmmm… Alright I've made my decision. Now all I need is the right moment.'_

Kakashi looked back down at the three. All of them had finished eating, and Sasuke and Sakura were using the last of the warm water to clean and rinse the bowls. The water then was thrown over the fire, effectively putting it out. The cardboard boxes and wooden chopsticks that had been part of the lunches were stacked together in a pile, and, as he watched, Naruto took the now smoldering wood and ashes from the fire and placed them in the boxes. Picking them up, he quickly turned to Sasuke. He nodded to Naruto who threw the pile into the air, and Sasuke used his fire jutsu to burn them to ashes, which the wind picked up and carried away.

"When traveling in foreign lands, leave no trace of where you've been, for signs left by careless hands, spell defeat for many men." Sakura quoted an old rhyme taught in the first years of ninja training at the Academy as she watched the ashes blow away.

"Kakashi-sensei said he'd be back in a couple of hours didn't he?" Naruto asked looking at the sky. "I'd say those hours have gone by."

'_Perfect.' _Kakashi moved, landing right behind Naruto.

"Interesting to see you free when I gave specific orders for you to not be released."

Whirling to face him, the three froze. Not one of the three spoke.

After a moment or two of not receiving an answer, Kakashi pressed them for answers, all the while keeping a terrifying sweetness to his voice (He hadn't let Ibiki's lessons go completely to waste!).

"Sasuke. Sakura. Why is Naruto free? I can also guess that he got food as well. I gave specific orders that he was to get no food, and not be released. Answer me please."

Both teens looked at their teacher, then at Naruto. Sakura answered. "Kakashi-sensei, it's my fault. I told Sasuke and Naruto about a lesson my father always drilled into my head."

"Sakura, I don't need to hear about your father. I want an answer." _'Besides, you're lying.'_ Sakura didn't even flinch at the blatant blow Kakashi had struck her. _'Good girl, Sakura. Good girl.'_

"Shut up and listen to her, bastard. She's giving you your answer." Naruto apparently didn't like Kakashi's disrespect. _'Little too protective of a person who isn't supposed to be a friend, Naruto?'_

"Naruto, don't swear. Kakashi-sensei my father often told me things that he wanted ingrained in my mind. One of those things was along this line, 'One of the most important things a shinobi can do is protect themselves and follow any order that a leader gives them. But never in doing that abandon a teammate. Teammates are an extension of you, so treat them with the same care you treat your body.' He wanted me to learn in the same way he did. Sasuke was merely looking out for his teammate."

'_A plausible lie … if I hadn't been watching for the past couple of hours.'_

"Sasuke, Naruto. What do you say?"

Sasuke answered first. "We're a team, sir. A mission for shinobi of our level would be given to a team. To complete the mission, you would have to work as a team, not as an individual."

'Observant, and correct' 

Nodding, Naruto added his two cents. "Yeah, yeah. And isn't it better to worry about teammates and disobey orders in helping them, rather then worry about what would happen to you if you were to disobey orders, thus following orders and not helping them? Besides you're always on some sort of team, right?"

It took a second, but Kakashi was able to understand what Naruto was trying to say. 'That's quite deep Naruto. I wonder if the others were wrong about you, and your, quote, "stupidity."'

Sakura stepped in. "Isn't that one of the reasons traitors are put to death after they're convicted of their crime? So that they don't endanger more of the team?"

'_Nice, Sakura. These kids know more about teamwork then some adult ninjas I know. Very good, very good.'_

Kakashi looked at his students. All three of them looked at their teacher, their eyes telling Kakashi that none of them thought one way or the other about their status of passing or failing. _'They're not going to be upset if they pass or if they fail. Whatever happens happens. If they pass they pass. If not, then not. Smart, but not in all situations. You three still have a ways to go.'_

"You three disobeyed my direct orders. That can get you killed in a mission."

"We know, sir." Sasuke's voice was emotionless.

"Do you? All three of you have a long way to go to become ninja. All of you have excellent fighting skills, but that doesn't make you a ninja. That only makes you a person who knows how to fight. Do you really think that being able to fight well would get you through missions where people are out to kill you? In missions where you watch your teammates die? Do you think being able to fight will make you into a person who can fulfill their every dream? Do you think it will help you when you have to kill an old friend or family member who turned traitor?" He trailed off at his team's faces.

Not one flicker of emotion from any of them. Naruto's head dropped so he was looking at the ground, but no emotion flickered in his face or eyes. Kakashi remembered Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage. Kakashi sighed, and smiled to himself.

"You three pass. With flying colors."

Three heads, raven, gold, and pink all jerked to face him, and three pairs of eyes, onyx, blue, and emerald stared at him. '_Oh yeah_'. Kakashi loved messing with people's minds. Yes indeed.

"You three were right about teamwork. You found what was underneath the underneath. A shinobi who doesn't follow orders is one of the lowest of the low. But a shinobi who doesn't help and care for his fellow shinobi is even lower then that. I've never seen a single group that has come to me work so well together, and so thoroughly understand the basics of teamwork. Heck, not just the basics, you three understand more then half the adult shinobi I know."

"It's thanks to our teachers, sensei." Sakura gave a small smile.

Turning to her, Kakshi apologized "I'm sorry for the sharp reply earlier. Your father was a wise man to have taught you such things." Sakura smile turned sad.

Looking back at the rest of the team, Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Let's go see who else passed, and get you up on the list as well."

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tbc...

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Not my favorite chapter personaly but ... meh, maybe you folks will like it better. 

Constructive critisim is nice, but any flames will be used to roast marshmellows for s'mores

Review please!


	5. Teammates

Second chapter. Thought I might as well bring in the other characters.

Disclaimer- I own Naturo in my dreams ... not in reality though.

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Chapter 4 - Teammates

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Outside the Academy the newly formed Team Seven met up with two of the other teams. Seeing the instructors Kakashi grinned. One of them seemed to have decided that bandages were the new fashion in Kohona, since they were wearing them wrapped above a fishnet shirt and a pair of shorts. The brown hair fell to their shoulders. The other was wearing the standard wear of most jounins, same as Kakashi. Dark blue sandals, pants, and shirt, with the forest green vest on top. Their brown hair was cropped and the ever-present cigarette was hanging from their mouth.

The mummy wrap wearing woman instructor, Kurenai, was walking behind two of the boys and one of the two girls. One of the boys had short spiky brown hair and was wearing sunglasses. You couldn't tell the hair color of the other boy since he had on what looked like a parka, with a little brown dog's head sticking out the front. The red triangles stretching down from below his eyes to end in points a little above his jaw reminded Kakashi of Naruto's whisker marks. While her two teammates seem full of confidence the young girl in the group seemed very, VERY timid. Her white, pupiless eyes downcast, and her black hair hanging about her face. She raised a tentative hand in greeting to cell seven. _'A shy Hyuuga. Never thought I'd see the day.'_

The male instructor, Asuma, seemed to be in charge of two boys and a girl as well. One of the boys was munching out of a paper bag, the swirls on his chubby cheeks reminding Kakashi even more of Naruto's whiskers. The second boy was walking slightly behind the rest, as if he was in no rush. He seemed full of a content laziness, though his eyes showed that he was alert to what was happening around him. The girl had long white-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her blue eyes were, like the shyer girl's, pupiless.

"Ino!" Sakura ran up to the girl in Asuma's cell, and pulled her aside. They began conversing. Almost immediately Ino stalked over to the girl in Kurenai's cell and dragged her over to the side where Sakura was waiting. Ino seemed to be muttering something along the lines of "stupid Sakura … can't believe she didn't drag Hinata over to hear this as well … got to pound it in … COME ON, Hinata!"

Giving a short guffaw Asuma called out to Kakashi "Your kids seem happy. Did Hatake Kakashi fail another group this year?"

"No."

The cigarette actually fell from his mouth in disbelief. "You actually took a team?" Asuma raised a hand to stop Kakashi from answering, and yelled over at the pudgy boy on his cell "Choji, that's you fifth bag of cookies today!" Waving to the lazy boy that was now watching the clouds drift across the twilight sky Asuma said, "Share some with Shikamaru why don't you?!"

Turning to Kakashi as if nothing had happened he pressed for an answer. "So?"

"Yes. You?"

"Yes. For both of us." Kurenai grinned at Kakashi then yelled over to her cell, "Come on boys! I don't have all night! Shino, get over here! Collect your bugs and get you ass in gear!"

"This will come as a surprise to the people we report to. I like it."

"You're a sadistic bastard, aren't you, sir?" The parka boy was smirking at Kakashi.

"I try."

Kurenai spoke up, "Don't listen to him Kiba, he doesn't even need to try anymore. By now it's natural."

"Cells seven, eight, and ten reporting in." One of the Academy instructors on duty announced. The rest of the teachers scattered about the classroom looked up. Upon seeing who the instructors of the cells were they gave the nine kids small smiles meant to comfort. No doubt they believed that the teams had all failed. All did this except two, Kakashi noted.

One of them was the Hokage. He had on his I'm-not-going-to-even-try-and-guess-what-happened look on his face.

The other was a chunnin who seemed to have been talking with the Hokage before the cells arrived. Ordinary enough. The only thing that would set him apart was the scar running across the bridge of his nose and the hair pulled up into a bushy ponytail. He was smiling widely at the nine kids. Or smiling as wide as the bandages on his face would let him.

Glancing over at the board listing those teams that had passed, Kakashi was surprised to find that not one team had yet passed. Which was just as well, as only up to three teams could pass per graduating year. Now the 'comforting' smiles that the teachers had given earlier made more sense. If all the other genin instructors had failed their teams the possibility that Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi would have passed their students was all but zero. Kakashi knew the three of them had a reputation for being the hardest instructors to pass. Still since no other teams had passed teams seven, eight and ten would be the three new genin teams of the town.

Giving a sigh of what sounded like disappointment, the woman who had announced them stated, "Instructors tell us you name, the name of your students, and who, if any, passed."

Kurenai went first. "Yuhi Kurenai, instructor for cell number eight consisting of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata. All three of my students passed."

The woman smiled at Kurenai's students "Congradulations, genins of Team Eight. Next."

'_So she's got three students from respected clans, and all three of them have a kekkei genkai.'_

Asuma stepped up. "Sarutobi Asuma, instructor for cell number ten consisting of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. All three of my students also passed."

'Same with Asuma. Geeze. Was I the only one who has only one member from any clan, and one kekkei genkai?!'

Surprise was evident around the room from Asuma's statement. Kakshi heard whispers travel through the assembled ninja.

"Both Kurenai and Asuma passed their teams."

"They were more likely to pass"

"Yeah, but there's no way Kakashi will pass his team. I mean he's got the fox."

"Maybe the Uchiha and Haruno can get them through. Those two were top of their class."

"Not with Hatake Kakashi. He doesn't pass anyone."

"Iruka seems pretty confident though."

Kakshi inwardly smiled. _'What a surprise your in for.'_

The woman announcing seemed to have gotten over her momentary shock, and smiled at the three new genins in Asuma's team. "Congradulations, genins of Team Ten. Last."

Kakashi stepped up. "Hatake Kakashi, instructor for cell number seven consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto." He paused as the teachers mumbled about how it was such a shame that the talents of Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't be put to use as a genin team. "All three of my students passed as well."

Dead silence. No one moved or spoke. Somewhere in the back someone fainted, for Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi, the famous Copy-nin Kakashi, who had never passed a single person to genin level, had just announced that he had passed all _three_ of his students.

Kakashi looked up at the Hokage and the man next to him, who he guessed to be the Iruka the other teachers had mentioned before. Both were grinning, the Hokage around his pipe, and Iruka broadly.

Miss Announcer fumbled for words. "Well … umm … Congradulations, genins of Team Seven. Umm … wow."

Silence again.

A few seconds passed before the Hokage strolled to the front of the room. "Congratulations new genin of Konohagakure. You are now recognized adult ninja capable of taking on missions and village duties. You've dutifully trained for the day you would be a full-fledged ninja. That day is here. Welcome to the ranks of the shinobi of Konohagakure." He paused and replaced his pipe, "Now, I believe your former teacher has something to say to you all."

All nine genin looked up as Iruka took the Hokage's place in front of them. "Well …You nine are from the first group I taught all the way through the Academy. You started with me, and had to endure me all the way till now. So I guess the only thing I can say is, you're free of me!" Iruka's face crinkled into a smile, "Anyone up for ramen? My treat."

There was a whoop from the new genin, and all ten began moving towards the door. Kakashi watched Naruto latch on to Iruka's waist in a bear hug, and saw the way the man's body stiffened, and heard the grunt of pain the he let out. Naruto immediately let go, and mumbled something that made the rest of the genins laugh.

Watching the party walk down the street, Kakashi thought he heard Iruka saying something about only three bowl a piece, and not wanting to go broke. Then felt rather then heard the laughter that reverberated in the air for a good time after the group moved out of sight.

Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai turned back to the room of teachers who still had yet to say a word.

Sandaime walked up to the three new genin instructors. "Seems those kids have gotten you three off your lazy asses, huh?"

Asuma just snorted and lit a cigarette. Kurenai giggled, "Hokage-sama, Asuma and I've had teams before. Kakashi's the one who's taken a team for the first time."

Folding his arms like a child, Kakashi pouted in Kurenai's direction "Neither you or Asuma have taken a team in a couple of years. Besides, it's not my fault that no one up till now has been any good at teamwork."

Asuma rolled his eyes, "Kakashi, it's not that the teams haven't been good at teamwork, it's the fact that you're too lazy to even want to take a team, so you made your standards near impossible to achieve. I have other business, so if you don't mind, I'll take my leave. Hokage-sama." He bowed and left.

"He's right. I think I'll take his example and leave as well. These teachers are giving me the creeps." Kurenai glanced around the still dead silent room before also bowing and leaving.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, Kakashi?"

"Can I talk to you alone, please?"

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tbc...

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Ohhhh .. talkin' to the Hokage. This chapter didn't change much. Also in this chapter people pointed out to me before that some of my facts were off. I reiderate - this is AU meaning it's okay for some of the facts to be slightly off.

Reviews are quite welcome ... flames will be used for making s'mores.


	6. Talking to the Hokage

Last of the three chapter post. Probably the only chapter that didn't go through an changes when I was rewriting.

Disclaimer - Would I be writing FANfiction if I owned it?

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Chapter 5 - Talking to the Hokage

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"Kakashi, you've dragged me to the top of the Hokage Mt. If you're worried about privacy, I think you're safe."

"My apologies, Hokage-sama. Might I ask you some questions about the three kids I've taken on in my genin team?"

"You may ask, Kakashi, but I don't know if I can answer them all, for I am not the best person to ask."

"I don't understand."

Sandaime turned away from Kakashi and walked to the railing at the edge of the mountain. "Kakashi, do you see all the lights down there?" He said waving his pipe to indicate the street lights and lights coming from inside buildings.

Kakashi walked over and leaned against the railing, feeling very much like he had when he first started at the Academy. "Yeah."

"Let us say that each one of those lights represented one of my responsibilities. The smaller lights being the individuals of Konoha, and the larger being the other duties of the Hokage."

"Uh-huh." Kakshi had no idea where this was going.

"The larger lights I can tell you about with ease, as they represent some of the duties of the Hokage. Like that one over there." He waved to the right where a light with a yellow hue was. "That's the Academy, which might represent my responsibility to the next generation of ninja. Or that one." He waved to a bright blue tinted light to the left. "That's the hospital. That might represent my duty to see that all the ninja in my care are properly looked after." Placing his pipe back in his mouth, Sandaime frowned. "But, Kakashi, what about the rest of the lights? The ones coming from homes and businesses."

Kakashi looked at his leader and was surprised to see sadness on his face. "Sir?"

"Kakashi, I can't tell you squat about most of those. They represent the people, ninja and civilian, which I'm supposed to protect. Sure, there are some I could point out, like over there." Waving to a very fait light twinkling by itself on the edge of town he said, "That's the Uchiha property. Sasuke's the only one living there now. But the rest of the town…" He sighed. "For someone like me, Kakashi, it's just a mess of lights."

"If it makes you feel any better, I see that same mess of lights."

"That's what I'm talking about Kakashi. Most of the people in Konoha village would only see a mess of lights. But," Raising a finger, Sandaime pointed again to the yellow glow from the Academy. "The teachers in there, they would be able to map those lights. If you asked them what a light was, they would be more likely to tell you who lives or works there then I would."

Kakashi just stared at the Hokage, waiting for him to explain.

Rolling his eyes, Sandaime continued, "What I'm trying to say is, I'll tell you what I can, but I won't be able to answer everything. If you're not satisfied with my answers, then I suggest you take your questions to an Academy teacher."

"You saying they know more then you?" Kakshi teased.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. Especially when it comes to the matter of everyday life. Kakashi, if there was a test on jutsus and fighting skill, it is nearly a given that you and I and all the jounin and anbu in this village could beat the teachers of the Academy, hands down. But if it were a test on what to say to a child who has just lost their family, how to make a group of pranksters behave, or even something as simple as how to get a child to smile …" Sandaime paused to think on how he should state this next part. "You and I, and most of the jounin, chunin, and anbu not involved in the Academy … all of us, wouldn't have a chance against the teachers at the Academy. That's their home ground, and it's what they go through everyday." Once he finished talking Sandaime turned and transferred his gaze to the lights of his beloved Konoha.

Kakashi was silent for a good many minutes, mulling over what the Hokage had just said. He looked for hidden messages or meanings, yet found only, _'_'We may think ourselves the best because we surpass others at jutsus and the ability to kill, but those who work with the children at the Academy surpass us on more important levels.'_ I've never looked at it that way before.'_

"Hokage-sama, I think I understand what you're saying, but I'd still like to ask you some questions. The first one is what teacher should I go to if I want more answers?"

"Umino Iruka."

"Why?"

"Well, as he said, he was their teacher for the entire time they were at the Academy. Also he's the one who reached the two kids that no one else could or would have even tried to reach."

"Who?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"How is that he could reach them and nobody else could?"

"Sasuke's brother Itachi is a few years younger then Iruka, and it is my understanding that Itachi trusted Iruka with the care of Sasuke when neither he or his parents were home to care for him. After the massacre, Sasuke eventually began to open up to a person he'd learned to trust. Why he did that still baffles me. One would think that he'd have shied away from someone he trusted before the massacre." Sandaime paused to readjust his pipe. "With Naruto, Iruka likely understood him better then others, since Iruka himself was orphaned when the Kyuubi attacked the village. That and almost no one else even bothered trying. One other ninja did, and he got through."

"Two this time. Who was the other ninja? And why would Iruka try and help the person who holds his parents murderer?"

"To your second question, I don't know the answer. For that I can only guess that it is because Iruka has always been a kind person, especially to children. To your other question, the man who also got through Naruto's defense was a jounin named Haruno Kuto."

"He related to Haruno Sakura?"

"Yes. Father, I believe."

'A possible explanation for Sakura and Naruto's we-know-each-other-much-better-then-we-let-on part in the team's act.'

"Do know what the relationship between the members of my team is?"

"Socially, I want to say that Sakura likes Sasuke, Naruto likes Sakura, and the rest of the connections are dislike and hate. But on a personal level, I truly haven't a clue."

'_So he also noticed their seeming act.'_

"How would Sakura know an anbu campfire arrangement?"

At this Sandaime looked surprised, "She does?"

"Yes"

"Interesting."

"Do either Naruto or Sakura have any siblings? Older or younger?"

"Mmm … Not that I'm aware of."

"What's the relationship between Umino Iruka and my team?"

"I'm not to sure about the other two, but I do know that Naruto is like a little brother to Iruka."

"Anything else you can tell me on any of them?"

"Kakashi, now you're getting into the really personal area. I don't know them well enough to answer here and not risk saying something they would rather keep secret. All people have secrets, and I wouldn't be surprised if these four turn up more then anyone else. Now, if you want more information, I suggest you get it from Iruka, or use those ninja skill of yours. Good night." Sandaime turned and started the walk back down to the village.

"One last question, sir."

Sandaime stopped and turned. "Hmmm?"

"Why did Iruka have bandages on his face?"

"He was injured."

Kakshi twitched at the obvious answer. "Might I inquire as to how he was injured?"

"That's two questions. He was injured defending his only family member from a person he thought was his friend. Now, I really must leave Kakashi. Good night."

"Good night, Hokage-sama."

'_Every time I try and learn about my team I come up with more and more questions, and more then half of those questions lead to more questions."_

_

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_tbc..._

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_Next few chapters (when I get them up) will be the talk between Kakashi and Iruka. I'm still rewriting some of it so it may or may not be up by Christmas. Deadlines suck.

Review for the author?


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